


The Other Option

by bioticgoddess



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 21:43:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bioticgoddess/pseuds/bioticgoddess
Summary: A “how it should have ended” to Civil War because we all think him going back to Cryo is nonsense.Disclaimer: I own only Taryn Lantz and nothing else. All things Marvel are otherwise the property of Disney/Marvel and their respective creators.





	The Other Option

Seventy-nine days, that’s how long Bucky Barnes had been in cryo this time. It was the number of days since he’d sat on the medical bed in the lab and enumerated the reasons why Steve had to let him do that. The number of days since Steve had started worrying about his best friend all over again  - afraid that this was the only way he’d get to see him. The number of days since he’d started nagging T’Challa, the Science team, and anyone else who would listen about the importance of making Bucky free from HYDRA. The necessity of removing or otherwise erasing any post-hypnotic suggestions or command phrases.

The former Avengers, now-king T’Challa, and sat around a conference table. The Wakandan King  tapped the wood a handful to times, snapping Steve back to the present. One of the scientists was prattling on about the neurological implications of their current ideas to undo the number HYDRA had done on Bucky. Side effects included everything from migraines to temporary paralysis. He pointed to diagrams as they popped up in his slideshow.

It made Steve want to smack his head into the heavy wood table.

A second of the scientists began going over the probabilities of how effective things would be, Steve sighed heavily. These were the best of the best. Despite it’s relative isolation, Wakanda had dwarfed the rest of the world in terms of their medical and scientific advancements. He really wondered if this was all they could do. If it wouldn’t take another fifty plus years to help his best friend.  

As the diagrams shifted to analytical charts, he asked, “You’re telling us that each of these procedures has a high probability of causing more harm and, at best, a fifty percent probability of successfully removing the controls. Please tell me we have something better?” His head was swimming. He couldn’t lose anyone else.

Where was Thor when he needed him? Or Bruce? Surely one of them, or Asgardian magic - medicine - could help fix his best friend. His  ** _brother_**. The only family he had left.

“What about the Red Book,” a smaller voice to his left asked. It was the enhanced - correction, Inhuman -  woman who’d shown up shortly after Bucky went into cryo. Taryn Lantz, at least that’s what Steve thought her name was.

T’Challa looked at her quizzically, “What are you suggesting Ms. Lantz.” His brow was furrowed and gaze narrowed. An expression mirrored and carried on the faces of both Steve and Clint.  

“Well,” she said, turning the book over in her hands - T’Challa had managed to get it and the rest of Zemo’s supplies when he stopped the man’s suicide attempt. Unlike his notes, however, T’Challa had the foresight to keep the Red Book instead of turning it over to Thunderbolt Ross. A decision, it seemed, that could save Bucky. “Couldn’t we use the programming already there to  ** _undo_** what HYDRA did? Like sourcing a vaccine from a biological infection?”

It was so simple and so obvious that Steve was surprised no one had thought of it sooner. Then again, the thought of using the control phrase on Bucky - even for this, to help him - made the blonde’s stomach churn. One the other hand, they were dealing with scientists - Bucky was a captive research subject. One willing to do whatever was necessary in order to be…free. And letting scientists run rampant, Steve feared, would lead to more harm than good. It had with Ultron - albeit the Vision was an added and beneficial byproduct. A friend. One whom he missed.,

She continued, not looking up from the book as she began thumbing through its pages, “I mean, it makes zero sense for him to have gone back under. You guys have what, two people with some version of psychic abilities that you could ask for help with this on top of it.” That observation was pointed at both Wanda - who traced the lines in the wooden table absently; and the absent Vision.

Fresh eyes.

Why hadn’t they thought about Wanda? She definitely had some degree of psychic ability. Hell, she’d used it on everyone but Clint when they were in Africa over a year earlier.

That was the situation, what she’d brought to the proverbial table when they “read her in”. It was something Steve would be thankful for, if it worked. “What do you propose,” T’Challa asked, his own mental gears grinding as he caught up with the woman’s infant idea. Taryn was silent, her eyes finally shifting to look at Wanda.

“It’s not her proposal. It’s mine,” Wanda said, finally looking up. “Someone would use HYDRA’s trigger words and give him commands neutralizing any and all remaining control. Afterwards, I would use my abilities to search his mind. To confirm that whatever we do has taken effect. Then we give him a few days to recovery and then test it. We try those trigger words again,” she paused for a minute, registering the deer-in-headlights expression some of the scientists were giving her. “Then, provided everything works, no one will ever be able to use him as a puppet again.”  

The men, those who’d previously fought a rampaging Bucky before, shuddered.

“Hey yea,” Scott Lang chirped from his seat in the corner. “That might work!” He watched the others, “No seriously! Every book, movie, TV show ever says you can undo post-hypnotic suggestion  **with** post-hypnotic suggestion. We just have to get someone he trusts to do it.” All eyes turned to Steve, Captain America, best friend of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.

Before he could protest, Wanda clarified, “Not to mention a number of psychiatrists and psychologists.” Granted, and this was the part they all had to admit. No one had legitimately believed that either brainwashing or post hypnotic suggestion were viable methods of therapy let alone control. Stockholm or Battered Wife/Spouse Syndrome. Yes; Absolutely. Both were proven conditions where a detained individual began identifying with the detainer - spouse, villainous military, etc.BUt this, this was all new territory.

After what seemed like hours, Steve finally spoke. “I’ll do it. If anyone is going to use…that,” he pointed to the book as it was passed to Wanda, “It has to be me.”

—-

Bucky stumbled out of the Cryo tube, almost collapsing into Steve and the medical staff. This part of his life never got easier - granted in Wakanda they were concerned with his health not how well he could complete a mission. To this point, they’d only brought him out a handful of times in order to test some new theory on his conscious, active brain. “What’s going on,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“We have an idea,” Steve started, “But you’re not going to like it.”

A doctor picked the Red Book up from a table near the diagnostic computer, handing it to Steve as he guided Bucky to a chair, “And we believe this is the best option.” Bucky could see the way this made Steve uncomfortable.  

“What,” Bucky asked, vision clearing so he could look at the people in the room. His best friend stood there, body language screaming how despondent he felt. Not far from them duo, but in the room, were the others: Clint - who he knew was missing his family; Ant-Man (or whatever his name was, he hadn’t caught it before going under); Sam - with whom he had a love/hate relationship; and together, reviewing the process that they’d worked out were Wanda and Taryn Lantz.

Steve sighed, “Everything relies on Wanda and Me.” He watched Bucky fidget uncomfortably in the chair. It was like when they were kids, only now  Steve was the one trying to get Bucky in the right headspace. “Ahem. The plan is to read the control code, issue a series of orders that are supposed to override the ability for anyone to control you using post-hypnotic suggestion,” he continued. Wanda had taken the original idea and flushed it out from a basic concept into a full plan that they could enact, “Wanda’s then going to use her abilities to search your mind and confirm if it’s taken hold.”

Bucky went rigid. Color drained from his face. A few minutes stretched on into eternity as he went over the ways this could go horribly wrong. The others, save Steve and Wanda, took up positions around the room’s perimeter. He wasn’t sure if they were just getting out of the way or if they were there to deal with him should things go sideways. Regardless, he knew there was no way he wanted his best friend reading the trigger words. At the end of it all, however, he also knew that Steve was the only one who could do so.

Locking eyes with Sam but talking to everyone, he said, “Just…if it goes  ** _wrong_** , do whatever you have to.” It was a demand and an order, not a request. He knew Steve wouldn’t have the heart to stop him, permanently. They were brothers, that made things a lot messier and both men knew it.

Standing roughly a meter from his friend, just out of arm’s reach Steve studied the book. This was almost the extent of his Russian, skin crawled as he read the words aloud, “ _Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak_ ,” swallowing, he looked to Bucky for a moment. The other centenarian was visibly uncomfortable, like how Steve had felt just before Doctor Erskine confronted him. Only know, Bucky was wrestling with his fight/flight response. “ _Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight car._ ”

The atmosphere in the room changed. It felt more charged, and set the group standing along the walls on high alert, ready to jump to action if needed. Bucky, however, was like a different person. Like the Bucky that Steve knew had disappeared – again.

“ _Soldier_ ,” he asked, wishing his vibranium shield was strapped to his arm. Then remembering that Bucky was still without his bionic arm so at least they would be on slightly more even terms if this went sideways. Not that another fist fight with his best friend was something the Brooklyn boy was looking forward too.

He responded in Russian. “ _I am ready to comply_.” Even after all this time, Steve didn’t realize how deeply words could cut until Bucky replied with those words. For the moment, he was gone. Trapped in his own mind.

Taking a deep breath Steve switched to English. “Do you understand me?” Bucky nodded to the blonde’s question, “Good. After this, you will no longer respond to or be controlled by post-hypnotic commands or suggestions. Nor will you respond to any programmed trigger words, or any other existing programming. This means that neither HYDRA nor anyone else will be able to control you against your will. As of this moment, James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier, your choices are your own. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he said. Steve saw something pass over Bucky’s eyes and hoped it was the recognition and acceptance of the orders and the unbinding of his mind.

“I will repeat the control words and from this point on you are released.” Without much of a pause, Steve repeated the Russian words and watched Bucky return to the world. He looked dazed, like someone had drugged him. Or he’d woken up with a hangover.

Bucky cupped his forehead in his right hand, breathing heavily, “Don’t ever do that again.” Something felt different and he knew it. Hell, they could all see it on his face. It was like a weight had been lifted or chain broken.

“You got it,” Steve grinned.

—-

Eighteen hours later, Bucky sat on the diagnostic table. The Wakandan scientists were fitting him with a new bionic arm. This time, however, they had made it from a vibranium alloy. It would hold up much better and be more durable in the long run than the one Tony Stark had blasted. In fact, he almost wanted to test it against one of those repulsors.

Almost.

“There,” Wanda said, brushing her hands off on her shirt. “From what I could find in there, the Captain’s Orders were very effective.” She smiled broadly. Wanda Maximoff was very proud of herself. She hadn’t used her psychic abilities for much of anything since joining the Avengers. Now at least, they had come to some good. They had  **helped** someone.

He nodded his head, only able to move so much as the doctors worked on him. “Hey Wanda, thank you,” he said.

She patted his right shoulder, “You’re welcome. But I will always help Steve and this family.”


End file.
